Linux Magazine has a profile of Daniel Fore and the Elementary project. Elementary is a Linux distro that's committed to a clean and simple user experience, but it's more than a distro - it's actually a multi-pronged effort to make improvements to the user experience for a whole ecosystem of components, including icons, a GTK theme, Midori improvements, Nautilus, and even Firefox. The work that elementary is doing isn't limited to their own distro, and some of their work is available in current, and perhaps future, Ubuntu releases. The results are really striking, and I think it's probably the handsomest Linux UI I've ever seen.

Don't know. I used to think that way, but some months ago, I decided that I would totally stop using CLI and use a GUI for advanced operation whenever it's available. Since I did that, after some distro testing times, when I use CLI now, it is always on my own free will (CLI is better for batch operation, it's just a fact).

I too use CLI for a lot of different things but mostly because I just find it faster to do things like that, it's not because the GUI tools are lacking in any way. Atleast with Mandriva I _could_ perfectly fine do everything with GUI tools, there has been no case whatsoever yet that required me to drop down to CLI because GUI tools didn't have the features needed.

As such I find the notion of Linux requiring one to use CLI completely erroneous, if not even pure willful spreading of FUD. It just ain't true anymore and haven't been that for several years now.

Ever? Well, you've never had to go to Windows Safe Mode after driver installation screwed up? Or never had OSX screw up permissions on system files? Nuh-uh, ever and never are such indefinite and precise words.

Yes, CLI is _sometimes_ needed, just as is Safe Mode for Windows etc. But usually? Often? No, atleast I haven't had to use CLI to install drivers for several years now.

Installing software outside the repository?

Double-click on the file, select "Install", and enter root password?

Installing software upgrades on 2 year old releases?

I have no idea how other distros do it, but all I had to do was click on the "Upgrade system" button when presented...